JAXON (The Caine Brothers Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

ornamental, tidy rows of vegetables marched up and down the plot. Behind that, yellow, orange, and red bits peeked from the green of a small orchard.
    Lily was a woman of many layers, each of them more interesting than the last—pepper-spray ninja, cool and aloof estate manager, gardening earth mother.

    At six-thirty, Jaxon left his room for the kitchen. Heading out into the hall, he looked left and right into the same dark wood and whiteness. The sameness of everything confused him. Left, the hallway ended at a large window a few doors down. Right headed off into the bowels of the house. He turned right.
    Most of the doors along the hall were open. The purpose of the room didn’t matter—bedroom, bathroom, library, office—they all looked the same.
    At the end of the hall, he descended the stairs, wondering if he’d ever locate Lily. Dark wood, white, black, and beige filled the main floor, too, from foyer to living room, gallery, and dining room. He couldn’t remember a more boring palette. Every room was interchangeable. Stately, reserved, expensive, imposing, and boring as fucking hell. He’d seen more exciting hotel interiors.
    He hadn’t had much time to explore before Lily arrived home earlier in the day and pepper-sprayed him, and after having wandered the east wing some, he’d confused himself sufficiently he didn’t remember where the kitchen was.
    He stuck his head into a theater—impressive for a private residence—and stumbled on the music room next door. Standing in the doorway, he considered stepping inside. The room had a piano at its center, a harp—of all things—a guitar case in the corner, a stereo setup, shelves full of albums, sheet music, tapes, and CDs—he didn’t know people still collected those things—a couch and some chairs, and the ever-present neutral palette. He’d brought his guitar on retreat just in case he got inspired, but right now this room spooked him. His muse still hadn’t shown his ugly face.
    He left the music room behind, haunted by it, to continue his search. After doubling back through the gallery and dining room, he finally found the kitchen, and Lily.
    He watched her for just a moment before she noticed him. She hummed something under her breath that he couldn’t quite catch, and she’d changed into a pale yellow dress with some kind of floral print on it. The neckline gathered too low over her breasts and tied in a dainty bow that he immediately wanted to untie with his teeth. The hem of the dress rode too high on her thighs for his comfort. She didn’t have the pale skin of a redhead. Instead—probably because she spent a lot of time outside in the garden—she had a light tan that made her skin glow.
    Fuck. Why did she have to be adorable?
    He stepped into the kitchen. “Hi.”
    She started, putting a hand to her heart. “You snuck up on me.”
    “Sorry. Didn’t mean to. What’s for dinner? It smells amazing.”
    “First of all, I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon, and I want to apologize again about the pepper-spray. I feel horrible.”
    He waved her off. “I understand. You didn’t know I’d be here. No woman wants to come home to find some strange guy lurking in her house. You did the right thing, even though it hurt like hell.”
    The skin of his face and his eyes were still tender, but had mostly returned to normal. He hoped to never encounter pepper spray again. Once in a lifetime was plenty.
    “Hopefully dinner will start to make up for it,” Lily said. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I made a skillet of cheese ravioli and veggies sautéed in herb butter, and some crusty French bread to go with it.”
    He sidled up beside her at the stove while she pulled the lid off the simmering meal. His stomach growled at the sight and smell of it. “Oh my god, that looks perfect. I can’t remember the last time I ate anything that wasn’t restaurant food or out of a sealed container.”
    Her pleased expression warmed his